Congo refugee sings America's praises

12:24 PM,
Feb. 15, 2014

Officers of the FARDC, the Democratic Republic of Congo governmental troops, look at a map as they prepare to fight against rebels of ADF-Nalu, a Ugandan Islamist group which has been based on the Congolese side of the border since its creation in 1995, near Kokola, 50km from Beni in the east of the country.

Written by

Russ Pulliam

Now living in Indianapolis, Congo refugee Emmanuel Musinga almost got killed by militia from a rival tribe when he was a teen.

America seemed to be a dream come true when he first came in 2010, after fleeing to Kenya. He didn't wear shoes growing up on a farm in the mountains of eastern Congo and walked two miles to get water for his family. He saw his country torn apart by civil war.

In America he could wear shoes, ride a bus and buy food in a store. "It was a big shock," he recalled of his arrival in Rock Island, Illinois, then Indianapolis. "It was my first time to have a bathroom in the house. It was a ...